Southeast of Saline School District

Students promote “green,” produce “green” for their school district

Gypsum, Kansas -- It was the students at Southeast of Saline (SES)
school district who envisioned and promoted high performance upgrades
in their district to initiate a $1.4 million infrastructure
improvement effort that is projected to cut energy consumption by at
least 21 percent, saving about $83,000 per year in energy and
operating costs. Just as importantly, the project has improved the
learning and teaching environment and has served to build student
interest in science, technology, engineering and math.

Challenge

A few years ago the students at SES developed an interest in
conservation and learning what they could do to help preserve and
improve the environment. This interest led to the creation of a
leadership class and a "Going Green Club," plus the
"BTU Crew" which is an energyefficiency curriculum developed
by Trane to educate students on how to make buildings--and their own
homes--more energy efficient. Initial efforts included a paper
recycling program. Then the students began studying energy use at
their school and what could be done to save energy. They recommended
replacing about 10,000 light bulbs with new high-efficiency bulbs that
would nearly halve the energy use. They also recommended replacing the
school’s old HVAC equipment with new, high efficiency units from
Trane. In fact, the Class of 2009 indicated that one of the Top Ten
reasons they were ready to graduate from high school was due to the
old ineffective and inefficient air conditioning.

Solution

Impressed by commitment of their students to improving their
school’s performance, the SES district leaders put into action a plan
to make the infrastructure improvements. Facing tough budgets, the
school board used a creative approach to finance the $1.4 million in
improvements using a performance contract under the state’s Facility
Conservation Improvement Program that uses guaranteed savings in
energy and operating costs to pay for the project. SES worked with
Trane on HVAC improvements to improve efficiency, indoor air quality
and thermal comfort. Trane also donated a new Tracer Summit™ building
automation system (BAS) to help optimize HVAC comfort and efficiency.
Philips Lighting donated 4,000 high-efficiency bulbs for the lighting
improvement portion of the project.

Results

The HVAC and lighting improvements are expected to save SES about
$83,000 per year ($29,657 in guaranteed energy savings and $53,953 in
operating and maintenance costs) over the fifteen year performance
contract. Savings are being validated and verified by International
Performance Measurement Verification Protocol (IPMVP) Option A
Calibrated Simulation and Option D Stipulated Savings. Dr. Justin
Henry, SES Superintendent, said, "Upgrades will benefit both
student learning and the environment while saving the district money.
Although we cannot measure the health, academic and environmental
benefits of these improvements in monetary terms, they represent
significant outcomes."

Lindsey Lockhart, a student
at SES and a Leadership Class 101 member, said, "Thanks to our
school administration and board of education, we were able to make our
ideas about energy conservation and waste management a reality. We are
showing the future SES students ways that they can be a part of the
Going Green movement."

About Southeast of Saline School District

Southeast of Saline USD 306 includes more than 700 students with all
grades located in a single, 151,000 square-foot building. The school
is located near Salina, Kansas, five miles west of Gypsum.